Alternative school graduation rates cited by Grand Rapids Public Schools appear out of date

The alternative school graduation rates offered by the Grand Rapids Public Schools were pretty startling, especially for the folks at the Gerald R. Ford Jobs Corps Center.

The district reported just 1 student graduated from the program, a 2 percent graduation rate -- figures we reported in a story about changes to the alternative education program.

"It's amazing that they graduated a student from our program considering we ended our partnership with GRPS two years ago," said Melissa Jager, who oversees training programs for the center.

Turns out the numbers used by the district are actually three years old, and there have been some substantial changes to the programs discussed by a Board of Education committee on June 1.

Kurt Johnson, director of alternative programs, used graduation rates as examples of why the district needed to overhaul those schools. Plans call for cutting back on teachers and increasing the use of computerized classes, among other changes.

It was stressed that the alternative programs had an average graduation rate of 33 percent, compared to 76 percent for the four comprehensive high schools and City High, and needed to be revamped.

The rates ranged from a high of 60 percent at the Union Community program and 59 percent at Park School to lows of 10 percent at the School of Construction and the 2 percent Job Corps figure.

The numbers come from the 2006-2007 school year, it turns out.

Jager said folks at Job Corps were upset that the 2 percent figure was being bandied about since the program's recent numbers are much better.

Job Corps has about 270 students and a fluid enrollment, adding and dropping students each week. The graduation rate for students who stay at least 90 days is about 40 percent, Jager said, with the number growing as students stay longer.

She said the district's figure also is misleading because it counts all students, even those who came with a diploma or GED looking to pick up job skills.

"Habitat for Humanity has been working extensively with the GRPS School of Construction for the past four years on a very successful LEED residential construction program. I was therefore stunned to read that the program was identified as having a 10 percent graduation rate. Nothing could be further from the truth!" she shared in an e-mail.

Doty-Nation later told me that there were eight seniors in the program last year, and all eight graduated.

"The instructor reports a 95 percent attendance rate for all students in the program. One student reflected, 'I don't even think about skipping class because we're building a real home for a real family,' she wrote.

Habitat serves as sort of a learning lab for students in the School of Construction. Teens arrive at a Habitat job site to find the tools and supplies carefully set out so they can get right to work with their instructors.

Next year, the school is to be a new "center of innovation" called the Academy of Design and Construction, with 95 ninth-graders enrolled so far. Habitat will be a partner, along with the Christman Company, Rockford Construction, Progressive AE, Michigan State and Ferris State universities and Grand Rapids Community College.

I asked spokesman John Helmholdt why the district used stale numbers in an important presentation.

He said staff pulled them from the state's Center for Educational Performance and Information Web site.

He used those numbers, rather than internal figures, because they are official state numbers posted publicly for all to see -- and folks did not realize the state is so far behind in posting statistics.

Other than in those two programs, Helmholdt said the more recent graduation rates likely aren't that much different. But district staff is rounding up the most up-to-date figures, and I'll share those when they arrive.